4005-762 Computer Graphics II - Course Syllabus

Last updated 2009/11/15 15:08:38
Name: Warren R. Carithers
Office: 3617 Golisano (70-3617)
Phone: (585) 475-5393
Email: wrc AT cs.rit.edu

1. Course Prerequisites

The prerequisite for this course is one of the following courses:

These are prerequisites, not corequisites - to succeed in this course, you should have already passed one of these courses, or their equivalents. Taking it at the same time as CG2 is not sufficient! See me immediately if you are missing the prerequisites, or you may be dropped from CG2 without further warning!

2. Books

There is no required textbook for this course.

There are a number of textbooks which cover this area; here are two of them:

Note that neither of these books are required, and lecture material will not be based on either book.

3. Grades

In Computer Graphics, much like many other areas of Computer Science, the best way to learn is by doing. Whereas the theory of image synthesis will be discussed in the lectures, the real learning occurs when implementing this theory into code; thus, this course relies heavily on programming tasks for grading.

The final grade will be determined using the following weights:

  35% Programming Assignments
  35% Project
  15% Readings
  15% Report

3.1. Programming Assignments

The programming assignments will focus on two major areas: Ray Tracing and Procedural Shading. Starting with the first week, assignments will be given on a weekly basis. In most cases, the assignment will be due the following week. Each of the assignments will build upon the work done on the previous assignments.

3.2. Project

A quarter-long project that illustrates in-depth knowledge of one aspect of the image synthesis pipeline as presented in the course. Students' choice of project should reflect their interests and their motivation for taking this course. The intent of the project is to provide students with the opportunity to undertake a significant task in computer graphics of their own choosing.

Team projects are acceptable; however, the complexity of the project should reflect the number of members of the team, and all team members are expected to contribute equally to the final project.

Each student (or team) will be expected to give a short (~15 minutes) presentation on his/her/their project during the last week(s) of the quarter and finals week.

3.3. Readings

In order to get used to reading the Computer Graphics literature, students will also be required to submit short summaries of selected papers. Students may choose the papers they wish to summarize from the Reading List; however only one paper per topic should be chosen. Paper summaries must be submitted prior to the lecture corresponding to the topic covered by the paper.

Graduate students are required to submit two paper summaries per week in weeks 2 through 9 of the quarter.

3.4. Report

Students taking the course for graduate credit will be required to write and present a survey of the state of the art in a given subtopic or an in-depth report on a particular Computer Graphics technique not presented in lecture. The intention of this deliverable is to prepare the student for a possible project/thesis in the area of Graphics. Grad students should meet with the instructor in the first weeks of the course to discuss possible topics that match the students interests and future study plans in the area of animation. It is possible, and quite likely, that the topic for the report will be related to the final project.

4. Academic Conduct

Academic dishonesty will be dealt with in accordance with DCS and RIT policies.

5. Notes